True Love
by hughcri
Summary: Set one year after Artificial Love. John and Cortana's one year Anniversary is coming up but is there love meant to be. Please read my story Artificial Love first.
1. Chapter 1: A new Beggining

Chapter 1: A new Beginning

Cortana woke up with a large stretch. She looked over to the left to see John was not there. She assumed he had gone to the gym. She slowly got out of bed and made her way to her closet. She picked out a cute bright pink tank top, black jeans and a pair of converse. After changing and straightening her hair she made her way down the hall. It was Sunday so she had the day off work, she worked as a librarian at the local library.

She enjoyed her job; it reminded her of her job in the war. She loved to research and look things up so the job was perfect for her. She entered the kitchen to find a note confirming her suspicions, John was at the gym. He was already ripped but it wasn't good enough for him.

Their usual routine was go to work, she would sometimes go shopping and he the gym then come home for some alone time. But recently he was becoming more distant, like he was hiding something from her. At one point she thought he was cheating but that didn't sound like John. How well did she know John? She went to war with him for years but then he was silent. He almost had a poker face, only she knew the real John, kind, caring and so many more wonderful traits.

She tried to talk to Selene about it but she was busy at work. Except Cortana knew that wasn't the truth. Since the day she was wearing the Over seer's jacket she knew the two women were a thing. City 10 was far away from the town but not so much that the trip was implausible. She had thought it was Selene that the Chief was cheating with but she was not his type and vice versa. Also there 1 year Anniversary was approaching, she had to get him something nice.

John didn't like lying to Cortana but he was preparing for their 1 year Anniversary. He had to make it a night to remember. He strolled down the street wearing a pair of black trousers, a light green shirt and a black leather Jacket. His blondish brown hair was also spiked up; he thought it made him look younger. It did he looked about 29 and that is with all the time he spent in Cryo. He turned the corner onto Skirmish Street.

He headed towards a pub called The Heretic's Sword. There was a sign in the window saying 'Elites welcome'. John sighed and walked inside. The bar was towards the right, there was a pool table on the far left corner and Men's and Woman's toilets at the far back wall. It was Farley empty, probably due to the sign. Sangheili's or as humans called them Elite's were not very popular among mankind.

Even after the truce with the elite separatist's not all human's liked them. There was only one elite there the other's were all human. John approached the elite and sat down. "Thel 'Vadam, long time no see" The Elite turned to face the Spartan.

"It has been a long time Spartan" the Arbiter smiled or at least the Elite equivalent and took another sip from his glass. "So why have you summoned me" John laughed The Arbiter always had to be so…so formal.

"Thel you once told me that once….before the war you had….a wife" The Arbiter winced as painful memories flooded back. "I understand if you don't…'

"You want help proposing to the A.I?" said The Arbiter bluntly, John was shocked.

"How did you…'

"It is obvious what with your Anniversary coming up"

John sighed "well I thought with the similarities of our culture's…'

"You have said enough, I will help you, do you have a ring, I understand that is vital to human marriage ceremonies"

John reached in his pocket and pulled out a small red velvet box. He opened it revealing a sparkling gold ring with a diamond on. The Arbiter laughed "You Spartan's go all out. No?" John laughed with him.

"It is less expensive than it look's It was actually quite a bargain" John closed the box and deposited it back into his jacket pocket. "

"Do not worry Spartan it is my duty as a friend to help you. Sadly now I must go as the ambassador of the Sangheili's I don't get much personal time. I will see you soon Spartan" The Elite stood up and passed the bartender some cash.

John nodded "Thank you Arbiter"

"And thank you Demon" replied Thel as he exited the pub. John turned around to see the other guys sniggering at him "What you looking at!" shouted John in reply. The men just returned to their game of pool. "That's what I thought" John looked back to the Bartender "One Strongbow"

"Coming up" replied the Bartender. John took a book out of his pocket and skimmed through the pages. It was his journal, it was home to his most intermit inner thoughts. Then suddenly a picture fell out, he picked it up and looked at it. It was him and Cortana; he smiled fondly and looked up at the barman to thank him for the drink. He then took a long sip and breathed a refreshing sigh.

The Arbiter slowly rounded the corner and looked to make sure no one was looking. He then pulled up his sleeve and tapped on a gauntlet like device. A small ship appeared and the Arbiter quickly hurried inside.  
Rtas 'Vadum or as he is better known, the shipmaster bowed. "I assume it went well"

The Arbiter smiled "We have a new mission"

"What is it sir?"

"We are wedding organizers"

Rtas raised his eyebrow or again the elite equivalent. "I will explain" The Arbiter walked through into the control room.

"Oh ok, wait no sorry did you say wedding?"


	2. Chapter 2: This is only Beggining

Chapter 2: This is just the beginning

Thel 'Vadam sat back in his seat pondering the week's events. The Chief asking him for proposal advice was a breath of fresh air. Jiralhanae or brutes (as humans call them which he thought was a better name) forces had been doubling.

He knew something big was coming. He grabbed his energy sword projector and twirled it around in his hand. Their ship slowly approached their main cruiser. The SDV class heavy corvette glistened against the sun's rays. The shadow of intent was one of the only remaining ships in the Sangheili's fleet. They still had a lot but without Covenant engineer's to repair them they had nothing compared to the Jiralhanae.

The ship arrived in the landing bay and hundreds of Elite solders ran up to them. "You have attracted quite the crowd" whispered the Ship Master walking to stand by his fellow soldiers.

The Arbiter sighed "I have business to attend to but may I remind you to put in 100% The Jiral….No Brutes, these Brutes outrank us in technology but not in heart. We will rip these apes from lime to lime not only for Sanhelio's (The Elite's home planet) but for earth as well. They might not accept it but we are just as much part of their planet as them, Sangheili's sound off!" shouted the Arbiter awarding applause. He chuckled to himself "I still got it"

He then walked down the corridors until he reached his private quarters. He pressed his hand to a scanner. In Elite's native language a male voice said "Welcome Sir Thel Vadam'.

The room was a darkish blue and had a number of monitors and screens. "Computer set terminal 6 to station 5"

"Yes sir" the voice sounded again.

The screen in front of his desk activated showing old earth TV shows. He had reached into a draw and pulled out a small picture. It was him and his wife, he smiled as his left thumb rubbed the picture. "Excuse me sir but you have a visitor"

"Let them in"

The shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum strolled in. "Excuse my forwardness Thel but what did you mean by wedding planners"

Thel laughed "I will explain you see…'

Back on Earth Cortana was shelving books. She wore her glasses as she inspected the cover. She didn't need them but she thought they looked cool. She then heard a whistling and something tough her…."Hey" shouted Cortana turning to face a man with blonde spikey hair, a white sweater and a black coat. "Hey baby do you want to **do **my **Biology **homework".

Cortana scoffed "get lost you pig" she then hit him on the head with a book. He growled in retaliation and grabbed her by the wrists "Come on it will be fun" his partner turned to check no one was looking when he jumped.

"Dude we better get out of here"

The man replied "Come on the party is just starting" he did not notice his friend run off and someone else take his place.

"Excuse me"

"Look dude" he turned around to see a very angry John. He looked up at the brute and gulped "I was just joking around"

"How about I do your homework" said John "It is science right, now do you know what happens when a fist makes contact with a human face"

The man shook his head. John smiled "Pain"

One broken nose and a twisted leg later the man hobbled out of the library. The Liberian would have thrown him out but she was too frightened too. John helped Cortana off the stool and she threw her arms around him. "I didn't knew you wore glasses" joked John.


	3. Chapter 3: Second thoughts

Chapter 3: Second thoughts?

"What are you doing here?" asked Cortana

"Why can't a man visit his Girlfriend at work" replied John with a mock hurt expression.

A old woman with a pair of glasses, a purple flower dress and a dark blue open cardigan walked over. "Cortana you know this man"

Cortana sighed "Hey Hilda this is my boyfriend I was telling you about"

"Oh so this is John? It is very nice to meet you"

"John this is my boss Hilda" said Cortana

"Well it is very nice to meet you Hilda" said John shaking Hilda's hand

"Anyway John what are you doing here? My shift doesn't end for another half hour" asked Cortana

"Oh do not worry spend some time with John you have had quite the ordeal" said Hilda

"Really?"

"Yes when you are old like me you look back and you regret not being able to do things like spend time with a loved one. But not you don't waist your life like I did"

"Hilda you….'

"Go, go before I change my mind" said Hilda waving her off.

John and Cortana both left "She seems nice" said John

"She is" replied Cortana

They both strolled through the town, John checked out a Military Surplus store while Cortana made him go clothe shopping. John's head rested against the wall behind him. _'Clothe shopping is so boring' _whined John mentally. Eventually she found what she was looking for and they both left. It was now 6:00 clock and Cortana headed home while John still had energy to burn.

He went for a short sprint before he decided to take a rest on a bench. He didn't sit down because he was exhausted it was the opposite. His short jog was 18 miles and he still hadn't broken a sweat. He looked around, he wanted to be them. They all had normal lives while he did not, he was not human he was a Spartan, he lived a ordinary human life but he was still not human.

He took the ring out of his pocket and smiled. He could see it now Mr. and Misses…he frowned as a thought came to mind. Can Cortana have children and if so what will they be. Cortana is made of actual DNA some of which she picked from Dr. Halsey here self. She was also part Technology would that be part of them and if not would they even be human? Or would they be human/ Spartan crossbreeds. Would they have a normal life or would he have a son or daughter that could run a mile in the blink of an eye.

Would they be banned from sports like he was? He always won at Grav Ball when he was six but he was banned because of this winning streak. Would they be banned from such things? Would they be able to lift a car without even trying…would…he just didn't want them to go through the same things he did.

He had heard about Spartan 1.1's the children of the Spartan 1's they, they had received their parents powers.

He reached into his pocket and twirled a coin around. It was the very same one Dr. Halsey gave him when they first met. He remembered the day fondly.

_The mysterious woman took out a 20__th__ century coin and told him to judge which side it would land on. She threw it and he quickly snatched it out of the air. "Eagle!" he slowly opened his hand and as he had said there was the eagle side._

He smiled and flipped it in the air. He then snatched it out of the air before it hit the floor. He smirked "Eagle" he opened his palm and just like when he was Six it was an eagle. He put it back in his pocket, it was his most prized possession. He thought of it like a good luck charm even know he was smart enough not to believe such bullshit. Or did he…He sat there for a while.

He sighed and looked up into the sky as the horizon turned a orangey red.

Forward unto Dawn sleeping quarters

Thel Vadam walked through the forward onto Dawn. He had been training the troops and was exhausted. He walked into his room and approached his bed. He lay back and sighed.

A gun looking Holo-projector came out of the ceiling. It projected the form of a male elite. He had a Data-Pad held by his left arm. He wore normal elite minor armor except for on his head which was exposed. "Sir I have a message from the Spartan"

Thel leaned forward "What is it?"

The elite A.I tapped his pad "He says he wants to talk, something about a wedding"

Thel smiled before putting on a serious face "Tell him I will be there, say six?"

"Yes sir" The hologram disappeared before the projector disappeared into the ceiling.

Earth

John looked at his phone. "Six? Ok" he typed it up and sent it to the Forward unto Dawn. He stuffed it back into his pocket and went back to his thoughts. He looked back at the wedding ring when a figure wearing a grey hoody and jeans snatched it out of his hands. "Hey!" shouted John running after the thief.

He had never saw anyone run this fast. The fastest runner he knew was his old friend Kelly and she was M.I.A. He finally cornered the assailant in an ally way. "There is nowhere to run" the mysterious figure grabbed their hood and pulled it back. They had short brown hair with a blue streak. They had blue eyes and no makeup.

"Kelly?"

The woman smirked "John, long time no see"

"That is a bit of an understatement. Last time I heard you were M.I.A"

"Dr. Halsey got us into this big mess; I would rather not talk about it"

"So who is the lucky gal?" said Kelly grinning.

"Huh?"

"The ring it is a wedding ring right?"

"Oh yeah"

"Well who is it"

"You would think it is silly" said John scratching the back of his head.

"No I wouldn't come on just tell me"

"Her name is Cortana"

"The A.I?"

"She is not a…Well it is a long story"

Kelly laughed "So I guess the suppressed sexual drive side effect of out augmentation is bullshit"

"I guess so"

"Anyway I have to go who say's we go get lunch sometime"

"Yeah"

Then Kelly ran off and climbed the back wall of the ally way. John smiled before realization hit him "Wait how do we contact each other?"

John looked back at the ring box and found a note hanging out of it. It was a phone number.


	4. Chapter 4: 6 O'clock

Chapter 4: 6 O'clock

John sat on his stool patiently. The bar was slightly more packed than usual. He was wearing a T-shirt with the UNSC logo on it, Black trousers and military light green boots and an open black lining trench coat. He sipped his beer and took a quick look around. He spotted the Arbiter approaching him in a black hooded robe. He sat down and looked up at the tender "I'll have what he is having" he said in a Gruff mysterious voice.

"What's with the get up?" asked John

"It is the Sangheili equivalent of casual clothing. I have tried wearing human clothes but they give me a rash"

"Fair enough" replied John as he took another sip

"Spartan, human and Sangheili cultures are different but they are generally the same when it comes to proposing"

"But instead of a ring we use a flower, we call it Frananako"

"Franko?"

"Frananako it means the flower of love. In the old days men would fight to get it and whoever got it would be betrothed to the woman but things have changed. I like to think we are no longer that…'

"Barbaric?" said John finishing his friends sputtering

"Yes barbaric, it separates us from the Jiralhanae. Now I have never been good with words at least when it comes to my more…" He paused "Romantic side so this is what I did"… Meanwhile…

A rack of CD's laid towards the back of the room. A feminine hand picked one out. The slender frame of the woman strode across the room to a futuristic CD player. One hand tapped the greenish glass top and a tray for the disc popped out. She popped it on the tray and flicked it on the side with her finger. As the disc retracted the name of a track appeared on the glass.

The figure danced badly to the sound of the fast paced music. Suddenly a woman in a bright red dress walked in and leaned back against the door frame "That the best you got"

Selene turned to face the intruder "Come on Hill dance with me" said the Bisexual shaking her breasts. Hilary laughed and approached her girlfriend and started dancing.

"You are worse than me" laughed Selene

"Well that is because this is not my kind of music"

"Really what is?" laughed Selene

Hilary smirked "Major!" shouted Hilary

A ghostly white A.I appeared "Yes miss"

"I still can't believe you have him wired into your house" said Selene shaking her head.

"Put on Track B" said Hilary before turning to Selene to address her comment "As the Over seer I must be on alert always"

Classical music started to play making Selene almost laugh her head off.

"Will you join me for this dance?" said Hilary blowing her shiny red hair out of her face.

"Yes I will" said Selene in a mock posh accent "Are you sure you are just three years older than me?" joked Selene

"Hey just because I am thirty does not mean I can't like classical music"

"You can listen to this stuff in another thirty years" said Selene smiling as her and Hilary waltzed.

Later that night…

Hilary and Selene lay in the bed exhausted. Selene groaned "that is the last time I by wine from that place again" suddenly her phone rang and she grabbed it. "Hello…Cortana…right now?...but…Well your Anni…ok I will be over in a minute" Selene hung up and tried to tip toe out of the room. Hilary looked up and saw this.

"You leaving so soon" said Hilary.

"I am sorry but Cor needs me…something about John"

"It is ok, go spend some time with your friends" said Hilary

"How did I get so lucky to get a girlfriend like you" said Selene

Hilary smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

Selene put on her high heels…"In fact I think I might go there bare foot, driving in heels is not a good idea" Selene then ran and pecked Hilary on the check and walked out of her luxury apartment. She ran down the flight of stairs and into the small inside car park. She hopped into her car and started the ignition. She then drove out of the car park and off to her home town.

After a quick stop by the City 10 guards she was back on the road. She turned on the radio and exclaimed "This is my song" as she started shaking he body side to side, snapping her fingers, closed eyes and her smiling bottom lip out. She quickly opened them to see a car in front of her and quickly turned out the way about a metre from contact. "Sorry" shouted Selene. She turned off the radio and whispered to herself "Concentrate"

She turned the radio back on for a second and started to dance again "No" she said turning it back off "concentrate"

By the time she reached Cortana's house it was back off and she was singing "Radio Phone, Phone, Radio…" sang Selene before turning off the car. She stepped out after putting her high heels back on. She walked up to the front door and knocked. Cortana opened it in her pyjamas'.

"Cortana what is happening"

Cortana looked down "I missed you"

"Yeah Sorry I have been… Busy" replied Selene "You said something about John"

"There is, please come in" said Cortana gesturing for her to come in.

Selene looked around and took a seat on the couch. "Want some coffee" asked Cortana turning on the kettle.

"Sure"

Cortana mixed up the coffee and passed Selene a cup. "So what is up with John"

"He is being distant, I am not sure what is wrong"

Selene sighed "He is probably just preparing for your anniversary"

"I know I just wanted a second opinion"

Selene sipped her coffee "So what now?"

"I don't know I mean we hardly go out anymore"

Selene smiled "That is right, so we are going to have a girls night out, have you got a dress for the Anniversary?"

"Not yet"

"Good then we are going out to get you one"

"Will any shops be open?"

"Come on I know one that does not close till nine" Selene grabbed Cortana's hand and led her to the door.

"What if John wonders where I am"

"Text him"

"I am still in my PJ's!" shouted Cortana

Selene stopped dead in her tracks "Good point, go change" She then pushed Cortana up the stairs.

Five minutes later Cortana came down the stairs in a pink tank top, blue jeans and her hair in a ponytail. "Let's go" and with that Selene lead the way.


	5. Chapter 5: Memories

Chapter 5: Memories

John looked at himself in the Mirror. The Tux rental place failed on him but luckily he had found an old black suit he wore while he worked for the Military. He had also found a box full of his old medals and commendations. It was the day of the Anniversary and he was more nervous than ever before. More than when he first met the Covenant, more that when he discovered the Alpha Halo, Delta Halo, when he found the Ark and possibly more nervous than his first encounter with the flood. He brushed a bit of dust off the suit and put his box of mementos back in the closet.

He stepped out of the bedroom and walked down the steps to the main hall. He waited there when he heard the bathroom door open. He put on a smile and turned, and what he saw almost made his jaw drop. Cortana was wearing a shiny blue sequin dress and pair of gleaming purple stiletto heels. Her long hair swayed as she walked down the wooden steps.

John was in a world of his own. His mouth had fallen open, his eyes were wide, he had no idea where he was and what was happening, all he knew was she looked stunning. Cortana noticed this and started to laugh. John snapped out of his trance and walked over to his lover. He took her hand and kissed it. "Madame your car is ready" said John in a fake French accent.

Cortana laughed "Well then we have no time to lose" said Cortana in a real French accent. John's eyes widened, sometimes he forgot she was an A.I. He then took her hand and led her out the door. Outside was a sleek black exotic car, which she was she had seen Selene drive before.

He led her down the garden path before letting go of her hand. He grabbed the Keys and pressed a small button. The doors lifted up revealing the smart interior. John helped her into her seat like a gentlemen before snapping his fingers, making the door close. He then jogged around before getting in the driver's seat.

"So where are we going?" asked Cortana grinning

"You will see" said John smirking as he pressed the start button and drove off into the night. The car drove down the street's elegantly. Each turns being done flawlessly. Years of Warthog driving in intense situations makes driving down even a traffic filled road smoother. The car pulled up in a car park. Cortana looked out the window to find they were just outside a restaurant called Chef's Delights. She had heard of this place, it was supposed to be very expensive. "John it is such a nice thought but can we really afford to come here?"

John smiled "Price is no object for the perfect woman" He led her out of the car and into the restaurant. The interior was so fancy; almost everything painted a cream white. The room slightly dimmed as a bluish light beamed down from the ceiling. In the centre of the light an A.I appeared. It was an African-American male wearing a chef's outfit and held a clip board "Hello I am Roger you're waiter for the evening"

Being an A.I herself Cortana was intrigued by this and started working out how they got it to project through the ceiling. John couldn't help but smirk at this "Hello I have a reservation for two"

A shimmer of information washed across the A.I's form "And your name is"

"John"

"Oh yes…please come this way, you have arrived right at Pre-set time" The last part said in a dull emotionless voice. Cortana now happy with her Theory, followed John to their table. "Here are your Menu's" the A.I pointed to two Data-pads in the centre of the table"

"Waiter!" shouted a voice. Roger turned to the source of the voice"

"Just a minute sir, I will be right back for your drinks" then the A.I faded away and rematerialized next to the shouting customer. Cortana's eyes quickly began skimming over the menu. Even for an A.I it still amazed John how much information she could take in at once. Roger rematerialized "May I ask what beverage you would like?"

"I will have some red wine please" asked Cortana. Roger looked at John.

"The same"

Another shimmer of info scrolled across his body. "Your orders have been processed. I will be right back for the rest of your order" then he again disappeared.

John smiled at Cortana "Since when do you drink?"

"Why I have had my share of alcohol. I just do not indulge in it that much. Plus it isn't like I can get drunk, so"

John laughed at that last part. Roger took their order as a man came with their drinks for Roger could not physically hold them. Cortana ordered Escargot (Snails) and John had Coq au vin (Chicken and Wine). Cortana took a sip of her wine while laughing at a joke John had made. "Excuse me darling but I need the toilet" said John in a mature manner.

He stepped into the marble green bathroom and looked in the mirror. He rubbed his chin feeling his rough bear stubble. He checked his breath by breathing on his hand. He smiled and then fastened the tux. He then walked back out and approached his table. There food had arrived. He sat down at the table and watched Cortana as he examined her food.

She stuck her fork in the snail shell and put the delicacy into her mouth. She waited for a minute while her Taste Sensors examined the food. She then smiled and continued to eat. John snickered before digging into his own food. As they finished up their food it was time to exchange presents.

"Me first" said Cortana as she got out a purple box. She passed it to John with a grin on her face. John reluctantly took it before popping it open. Inside was a note. It read.

_Dr. John_

_Franklin Mendez here, I am assuming you still remember me after what we have been through together. _

How could he forget?

_In the years since you finished your training I have heard great things. Not only have you cheated death, time and time again but you shoved a boot right up the Cove's arse! _

_Cortana contacted me to tell me, you had settled down. While I cannot imagine you sitting in an office block and bringing home the bacon, I can tell you this. I am damn proud of you John and the rest of the Spartan's…It feel's like Yesterday you just got your first stun from my baton! And now you are one of the most respected War Heroes of a generation. People will pass you not giving you a second thought for they do not know that those eyes of yours have seen battle. While I cannot come to greet you in person right now I can say this. _

_I am damn proud of you son, for now you face your greatest battle yet, The battle of the Heart._

_Yours sincerely Chief Mendez_

John then felt something in the corner of his eye. He blinked but it would not go away. He then felt the feeling run down his cheek. He was crying "I…I don't know…I L…Thank you"

Cortana smiled "That's not it"

John looked down to see a set of Dog Tags. They read John's old tags. He had lost them long ago.

_A ship he was on was attacked._

_John held the tags in his hand…he smiled. A loud creaking sound filled the ship. Then an explosion blew through the room throwing John and the other Spartan's through the rotating disk's that made the artificial gravity. He landed in the gym, he grabbed a pair of weights to steady himself but he just crushed them as he scrambled across the floor._

_Kelly was beside him and so was Solomon-069. They felt the room begin to tilt as they got to their feet. They ran forwards as the room lifted, John saw a pair of Dog Tags slide down the floor. His Dog Tag's, then a large explosion from behind blasted them forward. Kelly bounced off the wall and Solomon hit the floor as John hit back first into a girder. _

_They saw the gym and the rest of the Aft section start to break away. They scrambled to their feet and ran through a door before Kelly pressed a few switches making it air tight. John looked out a window before seeing the Matter bending properties of a Space-Space rupture. They continued to the armory where they would later suit up and escape the exploding frigate._

_(Anyone want that turned into a full story…Put it in a review if you do)_

Cortana smiled "I know you got new ones but…'

John cut her off "it is perfect"

John then reached into his pocket and passed her a small box. Cortana raised an eyebrow while smirking. She opened it up to find a small note saying.

_Cortana I have never been good with words unless they are commands so in this short simple note I ask…Will you marry me. _

Cortana felt a flicker in her power core. She then looked into the box to see a ring. A tear emerged from her eye as she stuttered out. "John…I…I…Wha…Ye…yes I will…I will marry you" She then engorged John in a big hug as a large cheering came from the other diners.

Cortana had found her True Love

_Finally they are engaged…now tell me what do you think the next chapter will be called._


	6. Chapter 6: Big News

Chapter 6:Big News

"1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4!" shouted Kelly as she continuously hit her sparring partner. She went to her local boxing club in her free time which was most of the time. She had not found a job yet; she was considering joining the UNSC again but with the war over, military life was so boring.

Suddenly her phone started to ring and with one finishing move her opponent was almost out cold. "Better luck next time" said Kelly kicking his limp body. She reached into her hoodie and pulled out the phone. "Hello…Kelly speaking"

"Hi Kel its John"

"John! I was wondering when you would call. How are things going with the A.I"

"She said yes"

"Congratulations!"

Her partner got up "Who are you talking to?" Kelly just kicked him "Ouch!"

"Who is that?" asked John

"Just Jimmy, my friend, that is not the focus, the focus is little John is growing up!"

"Funny"

"I remember that time when we were Seven and we were on that mountain"

"We do not need to relive that memory"

"Ok…You tripped and kissed Linda!"

"Ok Kelly I am going to hang up now!"

Kelly laughed before putting the phone down. "Jimmy up for another round?"

"No" creaked Jimmy

"Ok let's go"

"Owl!"

Elite Separatist Super Carrier: The Shadow of Intent Location: Luna

The Shadow of Intent circled the moon as the rest of the fleet surrounded the earth. The Arbiter Thel 'Vadam was suiting up in Ranger Armor for an excursion to the surface. He put on his last leg piece when his A.I shot out of the ceiling. "Sir you have a call from…"

"The Spartan?"

"Yes sir"

"Patch it through to my Helmet". He then put on the helmet and data scrolled over the visor before a picture of John's MJOLNIR helmet popped up. "Spartan"

"Arby how you doing?"

"Nothing, slaying Jiralhanae, training my men, same old, same old as you human's say, it is your Anniversary today right, have you asked the A.I yet"

"She said yes!" said John

The Arbiter was speechless "Congradulations my advice worked!" exclaimed Thel Happily.

"Yeah the whole bad with word's thing…"

"Well honesty is the best policy"

"Do you have a list of Earth phrases"

Thel laughed "I am happy for you Spartan but I have to go, Duty calls and what not"

"Ok bye Thel"

"Bye Spartan"

Thel stood up and pressed his finger to the comms button on the side of his helmet "We head out in five"

"Yes sir" replied one of his men

Their scanners had picked up what appeared to be a covenant structure on the moon's surface. Thel walked down the long halls of the ship down to the shuttle bay. The shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum was waiting "Thel if the scanners are right the Jiralhanae are closer than we thought"

"Well there is only one way to find out"

Earth  Location: Selene's house

If one was to stand outside Selene Johnson's house they would think someone was getting murdered. Selene and Cortana both jumped in the air like little girls screaming their heads off. "I can't believe it my little girl is growing up" said Selene doing a puppy dog face.

"Shut up!" shouted Cortana punching Selene in the arm. "Sorry I just can't help it, I remember when you were just the new A.I at base"

Cortana sighed "Good times"

_UNSC Eternal Light En Route to Earth_

_The Chief sat in silence as the UNSC eternal light made its way to UNSC Earth HQ. Cortana sat on her Holo-Pedestal in thought. _

'_Eight years, Almost eight years ago I was put into service' She looked down at her hand to see a small red glow. 'No! I mustn't give in' She looked up to see the Chief Head to the Gym. _

…

_Cortana stood at attention as she floated above the Meeting Tables built in Holo-Pad. A man sat at the opposite end of the table. His stare was cold and calculating, his hair was white and thinning, he looked long over the age of Retirement. "Four years, it has been four years since the end of the War" _

_The man winced as old memories came flooding back "You were registered as M.I.A"_

'_Off course' thought John, He had long ago found that even Spartans long dead had been registered M.I.A. Spartans were supposed to be undefeatable, they never died. John knew that wasn't true. Not that he was complaining. He was glad he was not registered K.I.A but John just wished the Admiral before him would move on._

"_We have long accomplished peace, a few Blips here and there but we have it good. What I am saying is you are a Spartan breed for war, we have no need for people like you. John visually straightened in his chair. What was the man getting at?_

_Cortana stared at the man "Are you suggesting?"_

"_Yes, you are being sent to the City Ten reintegration facility. I doubt a few months of civilization life will override years of service. So until the time comes when we need you, you are now John the civilian not John the Spartan._

"_And what about her?" asked John looking at Cortana who smiled back. "Oh do not worry we have found a job for her. At research facility Nine"_

_Research facility Nine Forty Eight hours since meeting with The Admiral _

_Selene sat at her table looking over the slop on her plate. "The sooner I get out this place the better. I mean is this peas or beans" She sniffed it "It smells like beef" everyone at the table laughed. She looked up to see a group of men wearing black padded armor. They wore UNSC caps and were carrying a class cylinder with a glowing chip in the middle._

"_What's that?" asked Selene "Oh didn't you here, we are getting a new A.I" replied Selene's friend Alex "What happened to Aela?" "Not sure, I think she hit Rampancy or something" _

"_Well I heard the new one was put in service years ago, probably hitting it soon" replied her other friend Sara. Selene just waved it off and went back to her food._

_Later_

_Selene had served as a field operative in the war. It wasn't something you just quit. After years stuck with the same Job see had been assigned to the outpost until a spot in City Ten opened. She had been assigned to do some work with Cortana so she headed to the A.I chamber. _

_She entered her pin and the doors automatic seals unlocked. Inside was a jumble of wires and monitors. In the center of the room was a Holo-Tank, In a burst of light the image of a small naked woman appeared. She looked up to find Selene, her mouth slightly agape. "Hi I am _UNSC AI _Serial Number CTN0452-9 but you can call me Cortana"_

_Cortana noticed Selene's open mouth "Erm…"_

"_Sorry it is just…a naked woman really?" "Why those this form disturb you, I can change it" "No just…you look very…erm…nice…shall we move on" Cortana smirked at this "Well you are not too bad yourself"_

Present Day

"Oh my goodness, did I really say that" laughed Selene. "Yes you did" replied Cortana. The two women burst out into a fit of laughter.

Moons surface 

"Approaching the drop point" reported the Phantom pilot over the comms. "Good" replied Thel as he prepared to drop. The phantom was green, its paint fading, rust scattering its surface. Without Covenant engineers some of their ships were falling into disarray. The Phantom came to a stop, one by one elite's dropped out of the Grav-lift hatch. Thel engaged his zero-gravity pack, using controlled bursts to make it to the surface.

He activated his Single Beam laser TEAMCOM allowing secure contact in the vacuum of the moon's nonexistent atmosphere. "Check your scanners, the readings have to be coming from somewhere" It was then he saw a purple glow emitting from beneath a clump of moon dust. "Over here" he slowly approached it and wiped off some of the dust. Beneath was a glowing interface, definitely of Covenant design. "Lo!"

An elite stepped forward with a small handheld device. After attaching it to the interface he watched as Jiralhanae letters scrolled across the screen. "This will take a while" after a few minutes he was finished "Done!"

Steam was released as the pod opened revealing Thel's worst fears, Jiralhanae weapons. Brute shots, gravity hammers. "What's the date on the seal?" Thel demanded.

Lo gulped "May 22nd" Thel cursed, that was only a few days ago.

"Wait, but that means, it's a trap!" In a sudden burst of plasma Thel and his team were blasted into the cold void of space. His equipment was going haywire. "This is Thel 'Vadam! Can anybody hear me?" No reply and he was spinning to fast to make anything out. He reached behind him trying to stabilize his Grav-Pack.

Chunks of molten rock pelted him, pushing him further into the unknown. He managed to stabilize his pack. "This is Thel can anyone here me?" Green acknowledgment lights flickered on his heads up display, except for Lo's. He silently cursed himself for his own foolishness, he should of let drone's handle this, not a whole squad. He only met Lo the other day, barley knew him and now he never would.


	7. Chapter 7 Plans

Chapter 7 Plans aka Shortest Chapter Ever

Shadow of Intent

Thel Vadam sat in his chamber silently, thinking on recent events. A covenant drop ship had picked up the survivors of the attack. He couldn't believe the Jiralhanae were this close, it had been years since the war but attacks were few and far between, probably due to all their infighting. Ro had been transmitting the data he found. Thel reached over and grabbed a Data-pad.

What especially caught his interest were the words "Chieftain Tartarus the fourth" He appeared to be some sort of political figure. "Cross reference this with know Jiralhanae records" said the Arbiter. The glowing figure of the shipboard A.I appeared "Yes sir"

Earth

Kelly slowly stirred her coffee, since Cortana as getting married Selene thought that they should start planning the "Bachelorette Party!" Kelly raised her eyebrow "Yes we know, you have told us like ten times already!" she sighed "Why did John give her my number" she whispered. She looked up at Cortana, the A.I looked uncomfortable "Hey you ok"

Cortana looked at her "Look I" she turned to look at Selene "I, I don't think this is a good idea" Selene took a sip of her cocoa.

"Come on it is tradition! Plus all those men…'

Kelly laughed.

Selene put on a mock stern look "What is so funny?"

Kelly let out a slight giggle "Come on Selene if she does not want to do it, don't force her to"

"When I made this body I set out, to experience human experiences, okay I want to"

"Yes!" shouted Selene

Kelly raised her eye "Is this her Bachelorette party or yours?"

Selene "Just because it is hers doesn't mean we can't all enjoy it"

Kelly just sighed and shook her head with a smile.

The Heretic's Sword

John sat at a chair in the corner. Thel and Rtas sat with him, also Jimmy was with them. "So two words" said Jimmy leaning forward "Bachelor…Party"

John sighed "No…I mean I am a soldier, I have been most of my life, literally since I was six. I have never thought of such things but from what I have heard isn't it"

"Isn't it" repeated Jimmy

"A man spending time with woman in a sexual way"

"Well you don't actually do anything, unless you want to" Jimmy raised his eyebrows up and down. John sighed "I don't know isn't it cheating?"

"No, both sides of the couple do it, I bet the girls are planning one right now"

"So we are doing it?" asked Selene

"Yes" said Cortana

"Woo!" shouted Selene taking a sip of her coffee

"Ok I will do it" said John

"Yes!" shouted Jimmy

Later that day

While John and Cortana discussed the wedding and the prior "Party's" The Arbiter couldn't concentrate. After the moon attack he had been anxious, Jiralhanae attacks had been fewer and fewer and he knew they were planning something but what?

He had checked all his suits systems and cleaned them twice. He sighed and began to stroll the Intent's halls out of boredom. He entered the main hall which had a holographic image of earth at the far back. He tapped a Console a few times "Show me home" Suddenly the image of earth shifted into an image of Sanghelios the elite's home.

"I will be back soon" said the Arbiter.


	8. Chapter 8: Can't fit in the text box

Chapter 7: The Day after The day before The Day

'Ouch!' That was Johns 1st thought for the day. The Party had gotten crazy, Wait! John awoke suddenly; the room was covered in beer cans and knocked over furniture. He got up, the sound of shaking metal filling the room. 'What the?' he looked down to see his scared MJONIR battle armour. He looked around and found the helmet in a pile of beer cans. He picked it up to find a note stuck to the inside. JoHnn The Bil IZ O You. John barely understood it with the hand writing. He checked the rest of the note to find a bill for 500 Credits!

What in the world had he spent? He checked. Beer, Beer, Beer, Beer, Beer, Wine with writing next to it saying EW! He looked around; Jimmy had made himself a makeshift bed of beer and pillows. "Jim, wake up" John grabbed his head; he had not spoken that loud. Oh No! He thought Spartans could not get drunk; it appears they were even more susceptible. He pealed a sticky pad off of Jimmy's face. He smacked his face around a bit. He still didn't wake up, John sighed "I am sorry" he then smacked Jimmy properly causing the man to scream out in pain due to Johns implants.

John approached the retrating Jimmy "I am awake! I am awaaaaaaaaa" John lifted Jimmy by the collar "What happened last night?"

Later

Jimmy, John and Thel all stared at the camera before them.

_Go John! Go John _spewed from its speakers.

_John held the heavy chest with two fingers "Show off!" John slammed it down on the table smashing it in half, all the guys yelled like Animals. John grabbed his helmet and threw it lazily on his head "I am Sie…Haha…I am Sie….Hahahahahaha…I am John fucking Seven! Times Twooooooooooooooo!"_

John shook his head fast-forwarding the video.

_John was now in full armour jumping up and down. He grabbed his pistol, _

"Oh god" said John slamming his head on a table. Jimmy just laughed.

_John shot at the ceiling, The others cheering him on._

Once John saw Thel reach for his energy sword he shot it off. "Oh no!" said John with his face in his hands.

Jimmy just laughed "That is one Stag I will never forget!"

John sighed, Stag, Sta. ? "Stag!" John looked at the clock, "We are so late!"

Jimmy looked confused "For what?"

"The Wedding!"

John took off his upper armour to see his was wearing nothing underneath it. "Oh shit!" He grabbed the Nano-Weave that should have been under it.

At Selene's house

"I cannot believe you woke up so early" said Selene

Cortana smiled "It is an upgrade I gave myself, I am not missing this day!"

"Ok that is fare but did you have to wake us up" Selene motioned to herself and Hilary.

Kelly laughed "How did you wake up so soon either?"

"I am a Spartan if we didn't wake up during training we were electrocuted"

"Iffff, Ew! That must have hurt!"

Kelly shrugged "I got used to it"

Cortana stood up and threw a dress at Kelly "Get out of that hoodie now!"

Kelly groaned "This is a wedding and you will look Smart!" stated Cortana before Kelly could protest. She trudged into the bathroom. "Where is Linda?" Kelly had gave Cortana a list of surviving Spartans for Cortana to happily ad to the list of attendees, and one of them was "Linda-058 Where have you been?"

A pale woman with fiery red hair and emerald green eyes stepped into the room. "I was tuning my sniper rifle, some of us are still in the military" said the woman as she grabbed a dress out of a wardrobe. Cortana's bridesmaids comprised of Linda, Kelly, Hilary and the Selene as the head Bridesmaid. The Groomsmen or Ushers comprised of Jimmy, Rtas Vadum, Fredric-104 and the best man was The Arbiter Thel Vadam.

Speaking of the men. "Where is my suit?!" screamed Jimmy, Thel practically ripped it from the wardrobe "Here!"

John struggled with his suit after he threw his MJONIR have way across the room and nearly at Jimmy's head. "Thel what is taking so long?!"

Thel struggled with his buttons "These Suits are not made for my kind!" "Where is Rtas?" The other elite strolled into the room in his full tux. He totted "Come on guys it is not that hard!"

Meanwhile the girls made their way to the van. "I am glad the weather forecast was right" said Cortana. Half way through the journey Selene noticed Cortana shaking.

"Are you nervous?"  
"What me? No! Why would I be nervous? I am as cool as a cucumber! Happy! Happy! That's me!" Selene laughed "Yeah well if you were you shouldn't be, there is nothing to be worried about. You and John are happily in Lo…'

"I am not nervous!"


	9. Chapter 9: Let's do this

Chapter 8: The Big Day

John and Cortana had decided to have their wedding in a tent. It was a somewhat popular choice and neither of them were religious. The tent was made of water proof materials and special supportive metals. The aisle was a stone path and was accompanied by wooden chairs. The attendees included Lord Hood, Dr. Halsey, Jun what little made up the remaining Spartan II's and UNSC personal along with those that were discharged. Also some active and retired UNSC and elite Personnel. Now the only people to arrive were John and the guys.

"John watch out!" The sound of screeching filled the street. Jimmy could literally smell the burning rubber "How do you guys not break off the steering wheel?!" "Years of practice!" shouted John. He sharply turned a corner.

Thel "Why aren't the local law enforcement after us!" shouted Thel. "I technically haven't broken a law! Well maybe one or two" "Maybe next time I can drive! My custom spectre can fit all of us!" shouted Thel "The field is in sight!"

Cortana slumped in her dress "I mean he wouldn't blow me of would he?" Selene patted the A.I's back "John will be here" there was a loud screech and a crash. "Next time I am driving!"

Selene sighed "Told ya!"

A minute later and John was ready. Hilda cracked her fingers before cursing herself for the nasty habit and then began to play on the organ. At the other side of the path Cortana stood there in a white dress, she had a flower above her left breast. The dress cut off and was replaced with another fabric. She looked beautiful, John stood in awe as she walked down the aisle. Selene held back a tear "My little girl is growing up"

"Sorry but before we start I have to ask this. If anyone has a reason these two should not be wed speak up now or forever hold your peace" As expected no one spoke up. As the Ceremony went on it seemed like everything would be ok. John internally sighed, he was finally marrying the girl of his dreams well the A.I of his dreams but something seemed off. He looked down, he could sense the small trembling beneath his feet. He looked to the side, the tent wiggled and moved unusually fast. A strange light emitted from the top of the tent, it was almost like… "John do you take Cortana to be your lawful wedded wife?"

John whispered "No…" Cortana looked like she had been hit by a train. "W…what" "Get down!" John pushed his fiancé to the ground as a large explosion ripped through the ceiling. He looked up, a Phantom made of what appeared to be Bone hovered above them. "No…"

Thel and the other attending elites grabbed their plasma pistols. "Brutes!" "You Brought guns!" screamed Cortana A large Brute Chieftain came down from the ship smashing all in its path. Thel threw John a pistold and they all opened fire. It kept on coming smashing the place to pieces, one by one more Brutes came, tearing up chairs and attacking guests. One retired Serviceman was hitting a brute with his cane. The best day of Cortana's life wrecked.

She sat in a corner sobbing at the violence before her. Thel was stabbing a Brute in the neck with an energy sword. John and the other Spartans were fighting a brute over it's hammer. She had had "Enough!" everyone including the brutes turned to the bride to be. She was standing, face covered in dirt, dress ripped and she looked pissed. "Her hands opened up revealing glowing circles that sent a pulse of electricity through the room, killing all the brutes.

John stared at her "Cortana…" the woman in question stormed off to the car and took off. The phantom was long gone as was the wedding. Thel shouted at his fellow elites "I just got word we have tracked down their ship, we will avenge this day!"

"I am coming too" said Johns his deep voice seemed deeper than usual. "But what about…" "I will…talk to her"

He approached his car to find it was wrecked "Here!" shouted a marine throwing him the keys to his hog. "I am coming too" shouted Kelly.

"And me" said Linda "And me" said Fredric "You mess with one Spartan…" started Kelly "You mess with all of us" said the group at once

John gripped the keys tight "Let's do this…"


	10. Chapter 10: Forward unto Dawn

Chapter 9: Forward unto Dawn

It was a long distance between the tent and there house. It gave John a lot of time to think. About the attack, Cortana's reaction, her ability he had not known about but mostly about what he was going to say. He had seen Cortana mad before but this was worse, she was hurt, bad. She was probably surprisingly the most emotion filled person he had met. Given his earliest memories were military solders staring down at him that was not surprising. There was not much room for cry fests in the U.N.S.C.

Even Spartans had emotions but every since he had retired he felt more, loose, less reserved. As he turned onto their road, one thing was certain. After this conversation, things would change for better or for worse. As he parked the civilian hog he took a deep breath before stepping out of the car. He slowly walked up the stone path to the house and put his head to the door. He knew the sound he heard all to well, the sound of crying.

He opened the door narrowly avoiding a plant pot to the face. He turned to Cortana, she was sitting at the bottom of the stairs. Her makeup smeared and body flaring with a shimmer of blue energy. He could see a series of electronics under her skin reminding him of Cortana's A.I "Tattoos" she looked up at John. "John…"

"Cortana…" he sat down next to her. "It has been a hell of a day hasn't it"

She laughed. "That is an understatement" her laughing turned from light and humorous to loud and delirious.

"This will be something to tell the kids huh…" the next thing he knew he was on the otherside of the room on his back.

"We can't even have kids you barbarian! Given your Augmentations and my!" she just motioned to her glowing body "Having kids is highly illogical!"

"Cortana calm down…"

"No you calm down! Do you know how stressful this has been for me!" her body glowed a mixture of pink and green reminding John of her angry state on the alpha halo. "When I met you I was intrigued by you, intrigue turned to friendship, friendship turned to love and love has now turned into hate!" she gritted her teeth.

"Cortana you get irrational when you are angry, it effects your programming"

"My programming?! Am I a machine too you! I know I am but that is different!" John just remained on his back prepped on his arm.

"I thought I meant something to you!"

"I do!"

"Then act like it"

"Half an hour ago I was standing at an alter saying my vows, is that good enough for you!"

Cortana began to calm down, her glowing circuitry disappearing "I…I am sorry"

"It is ok" John stood up and hugged his bride "We will get through this"

"Just…I mean who brings guns to a wedding! Especially Plasma...'

"Shhh…" John held her tighter, placing kisses on her forehead "It is alright"

John looked around for his armor "You sure wrecked the place" said John. Cortana picked up a can of beer and passed it too John "I believe this is your mess"

"Oh yeah…" he slowly got up and she followed

"What do we do know…everything is ruined"

"The Brutes didn't just attack us physically, they attacked us emotionally" John walked over to the chest in the middle of the room.

"I wish they would just leave us alone" said Cortana

John put his helmet and looked at Cortana "Tell that to the Covenant…"

Covenant Phantom en-route to Shadow of Intent 

Kelly sighed as she looked around the alien vehicle; the last time she was in one of these she was driving it. Thel paced up and down in the centre twirling his Energy Sword as they headed to the ships armoury.

Earth 

"You can't be serious! You said you were done with the U.N.S.C!"

"I was…I am!...I just need to think, if I don't do this now we will never be able to go on with our lives!"

"John I want to move on with our lives but not if this is how it is accomplished!" She lifted up Johns arm showing all the scars and injections from the Spartan II program

"Look what they did to you!" John looked away, he couldn't look her in the eye "John look at me!" John just shook his head and grabbed his armour.

"I have to do this!" Cortana took a step back, John had never yelled at her before and especially not like that. "I love you, I always will! But my friends need me" John turned to the door and left. Cortana just stood in disbelief. She took out her phone and dialled Selene.

Phantom en-route to Shadow of Intent

Thel had sent a phantom to pick John up, he just sat there in the corner as it arrived in the ships hanger. John sighed before climbing out the side "John" said Thel shaking the Spartans hand.

"Thel" that was the 1st time the Arbiter had used John's name.

"Come on we have a lot to discuss" The Arbiter lead the way, the hanger was full of Elites and Marines gearing up. "The ship came into view just before the attack on the wedding, I am sorry by the way"

"You have nothing to be sorry for, the Jiralhanae do"

"Right, anyway, we have ran reports, this ship has been seen by the home fleet on Sanhelio's, it appears to be CCS-Class but heavily modified. Holes have been patched with a bone like substance similar to that seen on the Phantom we encountered at the ceremony. Systems seem largely intact, there are fewer entrances and is extremely well equipped. This mission is going to be hard…But"

"Not impossible...ashame I was built for impossible situations" they stopped next to a weapons bench. John looked over a weapon the appeared similar to a Covenant combine "What is this?"

Thel turned to the weapon and picked it up "This is a Storm Rifle, it belongs to a Covenant splinter group named well…Storm. It is a variation of the standard Plasma Rifle" he passed it to John who checked the sights and systems.

"Interesting"

"Here test it out" Thel motions to a holographic target display. John levelled the weapon, closed one eye while he scouted the sights and fired. A storm of plasma burned through the target, causing the holographic brute to yell and fall.

He smiled "I'll take it"

Shadow of Intent Briefing-room

In the centre of the room was a holographic display of the earth, moon and the ships. Elites, marines and Spartans filled the room. Thel was at the back of the display adjusting the display so it zoom's in. "The Jiralhanae ship is well fortified but has one crucial error, that the Spartans have exploited before, to fire there cannons they have to take down there shields. For a split second but long enough to slip in"

A random elite stood up "But how do we get in"

"Timing, we fire a hole in the ship as the shields fail"

"Would the brutes be that stupid?"

"It is a chance we have to take" the elite sat back down, "This may be a one way trip, if anyone wants to back out…now is the chance" Nobody did "Well then, we head out in five!"

Selene's house

"The complete and utter idiot" shouted Selene as she grabbed some tissues and passed them to Cortana "How could he do this to you"

"Selene…really it is alright"

"No it is not! If I were him I wouldn't let you out of my sight for a second!" Cortana smiled

"Thanks Selene you have always been there for me"

"That is what friends are for. That is it, I am going to grab some wine get a few vid's and we are going to have a proper girls night!"

Cortana smiled at this prospect, "I will get the glasses"

…

A few minutes later they were prepped "I have some vid's" she passed some cases to Cortana.

"Eternal love 5, Lovers embrace, Chicks do…what!"

Selene gasped and grabbed the DVD out of the A.I's hands "That should not be there, that is from my…personal…erm collection" she ran into her room to put the "Special" vid away. Cortana just face palmed.

Phantom(s) en-route to enemy ship

One phantoms was filled with UNSC troops while the other had elite. They were prepped and ready to go, there was just one more thing to do. Kelly stood in the middle of the phantom and began the UNSC Candence while the elites did there counterpart.

"When I die bury me deep" shouted Kelly, no response "I said when I die bury me deep!" this caused the other marines to kick in and finish.

"Place an MA5 at my feet!"

…

"According to our stations! All without Exception On the blood of our fathers!"

…

"Don't cry! Don't shed no tear!"

…

"…on the blood of our sons"

…

"Just pack my box with PT gear!"

…

"We swear! To protect Sanghelios! And all her alies!"

…

"Cause one morning, about Zero-five!"

…

"Even to our dying breath!

…

"The ground will rumble, there'll be lightning in the sky!

...

"Those who would break this oath are Heretics! Worthy of neither pity"

…

Don't you worry, don't come undone!"

…

"Nor mercy!"

…

"It's just my ghost on a PT run!"

…

"We shall grind them into dust!"

…

A rumble went through both ships as they came under fire. Thel ran to the cockpit "Evasive maneveurs!" The Phantoms were bombarded with plasma, nearly burning through the hull. One of the banshees escorting the ships was hit. Its driver was killed instantly causing the banshee to fall into the phantom, scraping its hull. "We are getting decimated out here!" yelled Kelly over the comms.

"Time to make our appearance" said Rtas as the Shadow of Intent appeared from behind the moon. Seraph fighters engaged the Allied phantoms.

Kelly rushed to the pilot "What is going on up here?!" She then looked ahead at the view screen "Is that...Plasma projector online!"

John held onto the inner sides of the phantom. "If you are going to go now is the time!" yelled the pilot. John sighed and headed to the back of the ship. His suits built in thrusters packs were damaged in battle forcing him to use the standard variant along with the others. The gravity lift came online "Ready" shouted John over the roaring winds "One, Two, Three!" Soon all the inhabitants of the marine shuttle were on course for the ship.

The giant beam of the plasma projector was closing in. John accessed his visors comm. System "Elite's! Plasma beam inbound, abort! I repeat abort!" The phantom lowered into view revealing the front section had been completely burned off. The phantom spun out of control, spinning into the devastating beam "No!" Debris flew at John causing him to move off course. "Thel!"

"You are not going to get rid of me that easy Spartan" said the Arbiter as he raced out of the debris. His modified Arbiter armour now had a retriever so he could breathe in the vacuum of space. "Peace was an option but is no longer! We will destroy these brutes!" yelled The Arbiter

John readjusted his thrusters pack, thrusting himself back on course. From a distance they all looked like a swarm of bee's and a angry one at that. Rtas turned to his fellow bridge officers "Activate Energy projector!" the battleships lateral lines shined as a pool of energy appeared at the front.

"Alright everyone" said John "Stay in formation!" the line condensed into a single straight line as the Intent fired its main cannon. Johns peripheral vision was filled with a blinding white light. "This is it!" Like Cortana once said "If I had fingers they would be crossed" except now it was if he could cross his fingers without going off balance they would be crossed. He saw the enemy ship prepare to fire its main cannon. He contacted his fellow Spartans "Remember Spartans…"

"Can't die" said the group in unison as the enemy ship fired as well…


	11. Chapter 11: Belly of the Beast

Chapter 10: Belly of the Beast

"_We could use the Intent's weapons to blast through the ship once you disable the shields but there may still be resistance and I would rather not die in the blast. We have another idea that will make sure there are no survivors. We deploy an anti-matter charge inside the ship's shields"_

"_How would we get out?" said John. "We run before it blows"_

…

John felt like death, his visor scrolled with warnings and reboot notifications. He turned as he activated his suits flashlights, they had made it. Once the ship dropped its shields, the side of the ship was ripped apart. Now it was for stage too, he readjusted himself and touched down with the ground "Is everyone okay" the room was dark as dark could be, the only light coming from there suits and the battle raging outside. Green and red lights flashed inside his suit, the marines had not made it except for two and there armour was partially burned off. It was just the Spartan's, Thel and the other elites.

He lifted himself up and floated threw the zero gravity environment. He eventually came to a wall and felt it for a door. When he found one he shouted the others "In here!" the light from inside was blinding as it illuminated the darkness. The others floated inside one by one "Are the nukes intact?"

Kelly lifted up what appeared to be a plasma coil. Gravity suddenly kicked in and they all fell to the floor. "They are recovering faster than anticipated" John turned off his lights and grabbed his Storm rifle and scoped the way "Clear! Let's move!"

…

Cortana and Selene sat on the couch enjoying the romantic comedy they had picked. "Ann please!" they both shouted as they burst out laughing "He has no chance!" said Selene. Suddenly Cortana felt a vibration and turned to Selene.

"This better be a phone" she picked up the pink device and answered the call "Hello? I know…he is what…where? They are planning what!"

Selene turned to the A.I "What is it?"

"John's plan was more extreme than I thought. We need to get too U.N.S.C HQ!"

…

The group was like a well oiled machine, they ran in perfect sync as they got further inside the belly of the beast. The marines and some elites stayed behind. As soon as the anti-matter charge was set, they had less than five minutes to haul there assets out of there. They came to a door "Kelly see if anyone is coming! Fred you help" they both ran to the end of the corridor.

Thel leaned down and used a Data-pad to hack the door "Should take just a minute!" John and the others turned their back to the Sangheili so they could spot Kelly or Fred coming. John activated his comms "Rtas we are almost there but…'

"But?"  
"We have had no brute interference…something is wrong" The door opened and John and the others backed through "Kelly, Fred!" the Spartans in question came running back. John turned his head, if he was not a Spartan he probably would have pucked. It was a brute torture chamber. Dead husks, Sangheili and human, hell there were even some brutes here as well. John sheathed his rifle and leaned over a semi-circular table at the side of the room. Intestines scattered the table. "Come on, let's finish this"

John picked up his plasma weapon and approached the exit. Kelly followed when she saw something in the corner of her vision, a brute husk leaned against the wall "Let's go Kell!"

"Coming!" she approached the husk, was it…breathing? In second Kelly was against the wall, pieces of her armour crumbling and a one-ton angry brute stood in the middle of the room. It roared ripping a Incendiary grenade from its ammo belt "Get down!" a wall of fire spread through the room. The brute was obviously berserk, probably one of the Jiralhanae's victims. They didn't do well of stripping its armour though, maybe it was a trap.

The brute turned to Kelly and approached here like a crazed monkey. John grabbed a scanner hanging off the wall and used it to swing over the fire. He dropped into a roll, tripping the brute. He grabbed a sharp piece of metal and plunged it into the brutes neck. Blood spewed out of the creature's mouth as it threw John into the flames. It spoke in grumble and grunts, not even recognizable to the brutes themselves.

Kelly peeled herself off the wall and surveyed her surroundings. She spotted an SMG from one of the fallen marines in the room and ran for it. Before the brute could move it had at least seventy new holes in its body. "That was close" said Kelly before dropping to the floor. John trudged out of the flames, dusting himself off like he had only rolled around in a sandpit. "You are hurt"

"No I can still carry on"

"Kelly!" the woman just looked at him

"Get back to the others! We will have someone escort you"

"Yes sir"

"I am not your leader anymore remember"

"Then why am I listening to you?" said Kelly smirking behind her visor

"Because I am a friend"

Static filled John's comms "Hello?"

"Sorry Chief but I got a...aaa! You can't be in here!" more static.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

"Oh great!" said John "How did you find out?" said John in response to his fiancé.

"Lord Hood called me! Someone is reasonable! I have to find out third hand that my husband to be is going on a suicide mission!"

"It is not a suicide mission!"

"I am an A.I! I can calculate pie faster than you can zip up your jeans! So don't tell me it is not a suicide mission"

John didn't know what to say "Kssssh you are breaking up! Kssh" faked John

"That is the best you got!" a small window appeared in the upper-left corner of his visor with his wife's flaming face.

"How did you?"

"I am an A.I!"

"You walked right into that one" said Selene on the same window

"Cortana I have to do this" said John as he and his Spartan's moved on "It is the thing I know best" Cortana stopped for a second.

"The brutes still use a version of the Covenant battle net…hacking" literally a second later "Done take your next left and continue down the corridor for five sections"

John smiled "Will do Ma'am" said John as he took the bomb off Kelly.

Cortana showed the group the path as they ran through the alien ship. Cortana put her hand to her head "Hold on!" the group slowed. She stood up and ran to the nearest tactical Holo-tank. She transferred her data to the tank. "I am getting blocked…I thought it might be my restraints to block Rampancy but…no I can't get inside, you are on your own chief"

The group readied their weapons "Let's do this" the door opened revealing a huge chamber. Elite honour guards stood on each side and at the far back was a throne. On the throne was a brute similar to the Tarturus Thel had fought on delta halo, different but similar "General Tarturus the fourth I presume" said the Arbiter. "You remind me of the one I thought on the second Halo"

The brute stood "That misfit was not worthy of the Jiralhanae name or his own! He was defeated by a bunch of elites and two matchsticks!" said Tarturus the later being Johnson and Miranda "Not to mention what he did to the holy oracle!" the brute walked down the steps leading too his throne. "Also! He almost lost the fist of rukt!" he snarled as the hammer in question shot into his hand. "I am the true destiny of the Jiralhanae! I am the true Tarturus!"

"Today my destiny is written into time by blood!" he charged at the group.

"You talk too much" said Thel as he and the others dodged at the brute. The others just watched as their fought the demon and his accomplishes. Tarturus swung the fist of rukt and a wave of energy knocked back the others. John went head 1st into a small statue of the brute.

Linda ran up to the wall they entered and jumped onto it. She pushed off and propelled into the brute only to be grabbed and thrown at the guards at the wall. One pushed her off but was stopped by his ally from killing her. John slowly rose off the ground, his visor flickered as the brute decimated his squad "This ends here!" he reached to his leg and pulled off a shotgun. Thel stood beside the chief as they stared down there opponent.

Everyone in the room watched in anticipation until…the chief ran at the brute, dropping to his back, lying underneath the brutes legs. It turned to the Spartan giving Thel the opportunity to run and jump on the creatures back. He was easily bigger than John and that was saying something, the elite stabbed his sword into the beasts neck before pushing himself up, lingering in the air long enough to draw his plasma repeater. The brute swotted Thel out of the air like a fly before swinging his hammer at the upcoming chief.

Chief jumped over it before head butting the brute in the stomach. John kicked it between the legs and jumped onto its shoulders using his legs to crush its neck. John threw Thel his sword and the elites stabbed and slashes till the beast fell to his knees. Grunts and bloody grumbles could be heard as it dropped the hammer and fell dead. Thel then pumped the guards with plasma as John set the charge. "I can't get a signal! Hold on" Thel went to a computer terminal behind the guards body's and made a connection

"Command this is Thel 'Vadam' requesting transport!"

"Negative!" static filled the comms "We are…"

"Damnit!"

"What?" asked John as he set the charge

"They are not coming!"

John walked over to the terminal "Are there any transports left"

Thel checked "Four...wait no three...they are tearing eachother apart"

Linda lay in the pile of bodies her breathing slow, Thel ran over to the control panel before noticing her "Spartan!" John ran over to her.

"John I…" she coughed up blood

"It is okay we will make it through this" he held her hand

"No…no we won't but you will!"

"No…we both will!" he stood up to set the charge

"We will have to find a ship!" he contacted Fred and Kelly to give them the plan.

"Linda can you walk"

"I think"

"We will clear the way for you"

"We go on Mark" he pushed down on a button and slid it downwards "Mark!"

UNSC Base Facility Alpha B-D4

Cortana stared blank faced at the computer screen. "No, No, No, No!" she carted her chair over to a holographic display. She scanned the ship and then did it again. Selene stared at her not sure what to say "There must just be signal interference!"

"Cor…maybe he is…"

"No! We can't end like this…like I…I" the signal flickered back to life "I hate that man!" said Cortana as she threw her headphones back on "What the hell happened!"

"Not the best time!" Gunfire could be heard over the comms "Brutes!..Kzzzzh…Plasma…Bruteshots…fu…ing…kzzzh Hammers" Cortana and Selene giggled a bit before starting to track their position.

"I am tracking you and…a lot of brutes, did you set the charge?"

"What the hell!...Kzzh…do you….aaa…think" Cortana continued to type as she tracked his signal.

"Okay now turn left!" John and Thel turned as the ran through the sea of brutes. John grabbed one's hammer and jumped so high that he and the hammer swung through the air sending the Jiralhanae flying. He used the hammer to blast away the incoming forces. He caught a fire grenade and swung it into them so they burn to death. "Left, left" John and Thel turned in that direction.

"No sorry Right, right!" John growled. Thel glided though the crowd, his sword slicing all oncoming enemies. "The end is in sight" said The as he saw the ending doorway. John jumped onto a higher platform and sprinted forward shooting each incoming brute till he ran out. He then dropped it switching to a assault rifle. He stopped before leaping for the exit. "Seal the door!" yelled a brute. John shot into him before pushing the door back open for Thel.

Inside were a couple of ships all trying to flee now they have realised that the brute's couldn't now get the anti-matter bomb out of the ship in time. Thel jumped down from the balcony and sprinted for a seraph. John just shot the incoming enemies. "Got it!" the seraph lifted up and began to blast all the brutes. "One minute remaining on that bomb!" John lifted up and ran for the ship. Thel accidently shot a Dropship's fuel tank and it burst into flames spinning out of control. John jumped on top jumping before it blew. He gripped onto the side of the ship. "Linda!" he grabbed her hand and threw her inside. An explosion shot him further across the side of the ship.

"Go!" Thel turned and flew out of the small shuttle bay "Twenty!"

Thel sped the ship too its limit's "Fifteen, Anti-matter meets the bomb's matte in ten!" John climbed along the side trying to find an entrance. "Ten!" John looked up at the ship, They were nowhere out of the blast radius "Five! Four! Three!" John gave up the search and braced himself, everything seemed to go silent, and the enemy ships seemed to freeze in time, the blasts from the Intent. Then the anti-matter met the bomb shells matter. The ship disappeared in a flash of light sending a shockwave towards the dropship.

John felt the surface of the ship replaced with cold dark space. He opened his eyes, the brute ship was nothing but crumbling debris. He looked around, he reached for his back, his thrusters had came off in the battle, he reached for the built in one hoping it will work. His visor flickered as he tried to get back in control. His visor crackled as he hit atmosphere, he turned around seeing the ship's had drifted closer to the earth. "Damnit" he saw the remains of his T-pack drifting off "No!" he struggled to grab it only for it too spurt only a few drops before failing. But it was enough to knock him partially onto a new course "Damn"

He fell further down to the earth "Iiiiiiiiiiiit!" he spotted the remains of a banshee and reached for it. He grabbed on with shards flying off. He swung onto it as it protected him from the atmosphere.


	12. Chapter 12: Coming Home

Chapter 12: Coming Home

_If you are wondering what happened to Linda then go see the new version of chapter 11!_

Kelly walked forward in the DX dropship, Fred was driving as she was injured. They were able to escape but had no word from Linda, John and Thel. Fred's hands moved across the holo-graphic display. "I am getting an inbound signal…it is from Thel and Linda!"

"What about John?"

…

_Rebooting…_

_Shields online…_

_Health Bars online…_

_Grenade counter online…_

_Weapon counter online…_

John slowly opened his eyes "There is only so many times I man can fall from such heights before he breaks" he slowly rose up. He felt like death and this time he meant it…

Pieces of MJONIR armour scattered the field he had landed in. Re-entry had nearly melted through his chest plate and his legs and pretty much everything. He lifted up, biting back the pain "I think I broke a rib" said John rolling his shoulder "And I think an implant came loose" he limped over to what was left of his shoulder pads. He looked up and took a sniff, broken glass entered his nostrils "Ah" he snorted it out before ripping his helmet off.

He had left a trail of destruction from the top of a hill all the way across a road and into the small plain of grass. He sat down cross legged holding his helmet close. He spat blood into it when he heard "A car!" he stood up and ran into the middle of the road. "Hey!" a red car stopped in front of him. Inside was what appeared to be a middle aged couple.

"Ah monster!" shouted the woman the car rammed into him knocking him over. They kept trying to run him over. "Kill it! Kill it!" the wheels burnt away and popped as they tried to run over his MJONIR.

"What the hell! I am not wearing a helmet!" shouted John. He sighed lifting the car up before dropping it allowing it to speed off. The wife looked back at him and John just roared like an animal. "Drive faster! Faster!" John sighed and went back to the side of the road.

…

Cortana looked at her screen in shock "Cortana…" Selene was worried about her BFF she seemed barley fazed.

"This is not the 1st time John has fell from orbit" she looked at Selene "Or blown up, he has survived worse and after all the times I have got worried for no reason today…well what is the point" she went back to her computer "I need to lock on to his transponder"

"Ma'am incoming transport" the man stopped wondering why he called a civilian ma'am "It is the Arbiter and Spartans!" Cortana set the computer to decode and left to ask what the hell had happened.

…

_I…am…so…bored! _Thought John. He had taken the remains of his weapons apart and back together twice and one was covenant so it was not easy. He sighed and checked his comms again "Nothing" and by nothing he meant it was broken. He sighed "That is it! Chances are my transponder is broken and I am not waiting anymore!" he stood up and walked back along the side of the road.

He unlatched his helmet and held it in his hand. He groaned in pain thinking back on the last few month's. A ruined marriage, a suicide mission…he wondered if those things together were a sign. It had been hours and was turning dark "How long is this road?!" shouted John, he had passed a gas station…that was out of business

He heard a loud roaring sound "Huh?" he looked ahead to see a mass of army trucks coming towards him "Hey!" out of the front one came his Fiancée.

"John!"

"Cortana!" they both embraced eachother in a big hug.

"John 117" said an older man as he approached them.

He saw the man's rank "Admiral!" he saluted the man

"At ease"

"What do you want Admiral" asked Cortana as she hugged him

"I have a proposal"

"I have left the military thanks" said John

"Actually I believe you were given leave until a new threat

"Which has been neutralised"

"Don't worry" said the Admiral "I won't make you go head first into hell but…we have commissioned a new Spartan program…the Spartan IV's"

Cortana looked appalled "Again?!"

The admiral shook his head "No, no, no child abduction. Already trained solders but we need someone to train them"

John looked confused "You just said they were"

"Well yes as solders but no Spartans, they need to learn from the best"

"Thanks sir but no sir"

Cortana grabbed John by the arm and walked him over to the front of the SUV "What are you saying"

"I am retired, I have you to think about…possible future kids"

Cortana gave him a look "Adopted kids!" shouted John remembering what happened last time he mentioned biological kids.

She rubbed his armoured arm "John…I know ever since I became human…I" she looked up at him "I have put a lot of pressure on you…to…to leave the army but it is in your blood" there is still plenty of time to retire" she smiled "Plus it isn't like you will be on the front lines. I can visit…hell technically I am still a U.N.S.C A.I! I could work with you…John please if you want to do it…for me and yourself"

John went back to the admiral "Yes…but on one condition"

…

"We are here to today to see the marriage of John" he checked for his last name but didn't find one "And Cortana…" again no last name. The hall was filled with the same audience as the 1st but one but with a few more military officials and guards. A military base was not one Cortana had imagined but it made sense now she thought about it. Linda passed Selene a tissue when she started to cry "I John take Cortana to be my lawfully wedded wife, I will love her and respect her for the rest of my life until death do us part"

Dr. Halsey sat on the first row, she never thought when she first created Cortana that she would get married and especially not in a human body. She realised Cortana was based on her own brain which…was kind of disturbing given Cortana is marrying a guy under half her age.

"I take John to be my lawfully wedded husband, I will…" she stopped as she started to cry "Love him and…respect him for the rest of…" she waved away her tears "Until death do us part"

They had now exchanged rings and the ceremony was almost over "I now pronounce you husband and wife"

John and Cortana both kissed each other in a loving embrace"


End file.
